Configuration

Now that you’ve installed Security Onion, it’s time to configure it!

Note

Setup uses keyboard navigation and you can use arrow keys to move around. Certain screens may provide a list and ask you to select one or more items from that list. You can use the space bar to select items and the Enter key to proceed to the next screen.

Warning

If you use DHCP and your IP address changes, this can cause problems. If you want to use DHCP, make sure that you have a DHCP reservation so that your IP address does not change. Otherwise, use a static IP address to be safe.

Security Onion is designed for many different use cases. Here are just a few examples!

Tip

If this is your first time using Security Onion and you just want to try it out, we recommend the Import option as it’s the quickest and easiest way to get started.

Import

One of the easiest ways to get started with Security Onion is using it to forensically analyze pcap and log files. Just install Security Onion in Import mode and then run so-import-pcap to import pcap files or so-import-evtx to import Windows event logs in EVTX format.

Evaluation

Evaluation Mode is ideal for classroom or small lab environments. Evaluation is not designed for production usage. Choose EVAL, follow the prompts (see screenshots below), and then proceed to the After Installation section.

Production Server - Standalone

Standalone is similar to Evaluation in that it only requires a single box, but Standalone is more ready for production usage. Choose STANDALONE, follow the prompts, and then proceed to the After Installation section.

Production Server - Distributed Deployment

If deploying a distributed environment, install and configure the manager node first and then join the other nodes to it. For best performance, the manager node should be dedicated to just being a manager for the other nodes (the manager node should have no sniffing interfaces of its own).

Please note that all nodes will need to be able to connect to the manager node on several ports and the manager will need to connect to search nodes and heavy nodes. You’ll need to make sure that any network firewalls have firewall rules to allow this traffic as defined in the Firewall section.

Build the manager by running Setup, selecting the DISTRIBUTED install submenu, and choosing the New Deployment option. Save the soremote password so that you can join nodes to the manager.

Build search nodes by running Setup, selecting the DISTRIBUTED install submenu, and choosing the Existing Deployment option. When prompted, join them to the manager node using the password that you created for the soremote account.

Build forward nodes by running Setup, selecting the DISTRIBUTED install submenu, and choosing the Existing Deployment option. When prompted, join them to the manager node using the password that you created for the soremote account.

Proceed to the After Installation section.